


Double Pierced

by wonderfulwizardofthozz



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: A little LadyNoir, F/M, So Much Friendship, adrinette friendship feels, also marinette likes to design stuff, alya's the squad mom, and adrien is a Human Disaster™ (his words not mine), it's because of jewelry, nino's oblivious, rose is also in it for like 0.6 seconds, some djwifi if you squint, there's a lot of adrinette, there's a reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-10-09 22:39:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10423377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonderfulwizardofthozz/pseuds/wonderfulwizardofthozz
Summary: Right next to the earrings that Marinette usually wore were the little cat pearls Adrien had purchased with her in mind (okay, her and Ladybug, but he'd never give Ladybug earrings; what kind of fool was he?).





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Your Imprint on Me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9000544) by [livinglittlelie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/livinglittlelie/pseuds/livinglittlelie). 



> I found a stupidly cute pair of earrings on Amazon (they are pearls but look like they have cat ears) and told my fanfiction wife Leisey that Marinette would so wear them, and I had recently reread livinglittlelie's Your Imprint on Me, so...this happened.

Adrien figured that Marinette enjoyed wearing earrings because she wore a pair every day, so he bought her a pair for her birthday. They were little white pearls on studs, but the studs had black cat ears in what looked to be an imitation of Chat Noir. Hell, he'd even wrapped it in green (gift bags count as wrapping, right?). He hadn't expected her reaction.

"Oh, Adrien, they're so cute! Thank you!" She hugged him quickly, grinning at the gift.

"Don't you want to put them on?"

An entirely odd and un-Marinette look flashed on her face. "I, uh, don't want to lose the ones I have in. They were a gift, too. I'll take a picture after I get home and send it to you, okay?"

Alya _tsked_. "Nino and I want to see them, too. Send it to the squad chat."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Will do, Alya."

She had sent the picture as promised, and that was the last Adrien had seen of them until this morning, nearly two months after the fact.

Right next to the ones that she usually wore were the little cat pearls he'd purchased with her in mind (okay, her and Ladybug, but he'd never give Ladybug _earrings_ ; what kind of fool was he?).

Adrien turned to her immediately after lunch break started, forgoing a usual greeting. "You're wearing them."

Marinette looked confused until he touched his own ear.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry that it took me so long; I had to let the new piercing heal."

"Wait, I wanna see." Nino shoved a few papers into his backpack without looking to see where they ended up.

Marinette tucked her hair behind her ears. "See? Finally healed. Took forever, too."

"They look amazing. Oooh, you can wear them when we cosplay!" Alya clapped her hands together.

Adrien looked confused. "What are you guys cosplaying?"

"Oh, you weren't here when they decided that yesterday. It's for the fall fundraiser. Alya is going to be Ladybug, and Mari's gonna be Chat Noir."

" _And_ Marinette's making the costumes. Don't forget that." Alya slung her bag over her shoulder while the group started walking out.

Marinette led the way to her house as if they hadn't been going once a week for months. "I haven't exactly started your costume yet, you know. I still need your measurements. I'll get those after we're done with lunch."

"H-have you started your costume yet, Mari?" Adrien pretended like he hadn't stuttered; everyone else did, too.

Her face lit up as she waited for the walk signal. "Yeah! Chat's costume is a little too form-fitting for me to wear in public, so I've made some alterations, but it's pretty close to the original. I have the jacket cut out and the rest of the pattern done. I think it looks okay, considering. I'll show you what I have when I'm done measuring Alya."

Nino clapped him on the shoulder. "Easy, Mari. You're gonna break him. You know how hard he fanboys over anything Ladybug and Chat Noir."

"I know. That's why I'm showing him everything now. He'll totally break if we don't prepare him ahead of time."

Adrien blushed scarlet. "Hey, I don't have it _that_ bad!"

"Dude, your face is the color of six ripe strawberries on a shortcake."

"Thank you, _Nino_ , for your eloquence. I'm going inside. Maman Cheng will take pity on me." Adrien slipped inside while the rest of them stood there, laughing.

Marinette led the way to her room after they'd eaten. Adrien was still vaguely distracted by her earrings when he and Nino took seats on the floor and started talking, occasionally touching the various fabrics she had around.

Marinette positioned Alya how she wanted her and started measuring and taking notes, expertly whipping the boys with the end of the measuring tape when they distracted her too much.

"Where do you want the zipper, Alya?" Marinette stood back and looked over her with a critical eye.

"I don't want one. Ladybug doesn't have a zipper."

"Alya."

"No! No zipper!"

"Ladybug has magic. You do not. Where do you want the zipper? It's that or buttons."

"Ugh, fine. In the back."

Marinette smiled and wrote that down. "Good. It won't ruin the style lines, then."

"Do I get gloves?"

"I can't make gloves in this amount of time. They'll basically be like pajamas. How tight do you want it?"

Alya shrugged. "A second skin is fine."

Marinette muttered something about ease and wrote that with her notes. "Okay, it won't be exact, but it'll be pretty close to Ladybug's. You get a zipper but no feet or gloves. Otherwise, it'll be the same."

"And here we thought you were magic, Marinette. You can't make it exact?" Nino snickered, knowing exactly what conversation he was getting into.

"I don't want an akuma to show up and for people to confuse Alya with Ladybug."

Alya pouted. "How do you know I'm not Ladybug?"

Adrien hid his hope.

"Because you have an entire folder on your phone dedicated to selfies with Ladybug. Besides, what's the point of the blog if you're never going to reveal yourself?"

"Damn. You're right. How do we know _you're_ not Ladybug, Marinette? You don't have any pictures with her." Alya pointed an accusing finger at her friend.

"I told you! I accidentally deleted it when I tried to send it to you. I haven't been able to catch her since."

"Wouldn't that be so cool if we knew Ladybug in real life, though?" Adrien sounded like he was dreaming.

Nino jumped to action. "There he goes again, Marinette. Distract him with your super design powers!"

"On it!" Marinette grabbed her sketchbook and flipped to the right page. "See? It's my Chat Noir inspired costume. The pants are a jogger because they're like skinny jeans without the commitment. They have cargo pockets because, _hello_ , pockets! Green accents, of course. And the jacket is kind of just a jacket, but the style lines are supposed to imitate his suit. And that'll be green piping. Actually, it'll be wider than piping. Piping is too hard to do in this amount of time."

"Is that circle supposed to be a bell on the, uh, zipper pull?" Adrien pointed, acutely afraid that he sounded stupid.

"Yes, but I'm gonna take the ball out of it. I don't like making extra noise." She tucked her hair behind her ear and flipped forward a few pages. "Here's a preview of the pants pattern. I like to draft to scale, but you knew that already. Graph paper is a godsend, honestly."

Adrien stared at the design in awe. This was far from the first of Marinette's designs he'd seen or even worn, but it was certainly up there on the scale of how personal it was to him.

"I think you broke him more, Marinette. Dude? Adrien?"

His words tumbled out all at once, Nino's words unnoticed. "Will you design me a Ladybug costume?"

She blinked. "Uh, sure. It'll be after the fundraiser because I have these two to do, but I can do that. Nino, do you want something?"

"If you're making something for everybody else, sure. One Chat Noir jacket like yours, please."

Alya grinned. "We can all go cosplay as a squad sometime. Squadplay."

Marinette shook her head. "Whatever. Let's get back to school; we have like ten minutes left."

They gathered their things and thanked Marinette's parents on the way out.

Adrien found it impossible to focus on class with thoughts of Marinette in his costume. Well, an altered version, but he had no doubt that she would look better in something she designed herself. The pieces to the jacket had been strewn across her desk, and they were incredibly soft when he ran his hands on them (that had been the fifth or sixth time she'd snapped him with the measuring tape; he lost count).

"Dude, get out of superhero daydreaming mode. School's over. You're scaring Alya."

"What, huh?"

"You totally zoned out with your 'I'm hopelessly in love with Ladybug' look. Not that that's new, but it was getting a little intense there. But hey, I gotta get going. My cousins are coming over tonight. See you tomorrow?" Nino held out his hand for a fist bump.

Adrien returned the gesture. "Yeah, tomorrow. Thursday? My lunch day, cool. Tomorrow, yeah. Tomorrow."

"Shalom, my dude." Nino left with Alya, who also had places to be.

"Looks like I'm walking you to your fencing practice." Marinette smiled at him, her hair still tucked behind her ears.

"Right. That. Look, Mari, I didn't mean for you to get your ears pierced again for a stupid pair of earrings."

"No! I wanted to. I've been meaning to, anyway. You just gave me an excuse to. I wanted to surprise you with it because I liked the earrings so much." She got a distant look in her eye. "I have another friend who will love them, too."

"Who?"

"Oh, you wouldn't know him. I run into him every now and then." She shrugged, a smile pulling on her lips. "Nothing serious."

"Do you like him?"

"I mean, not no, but I have s-someone else I'm interested in m-more."

"How long has that been going on? This is the first I've heard of it."

"O-oh, since the start of school last year, give or take. H-he still doesn't, um, know or anything." Her face flamed.

"You must like him a lot. You should tell him. I'm sure he'd like you back." Adrien smiled and patted her shoulder. "He's an idiot if he's not interested in my favorite fashion designer."

"Wow, what a high compliment from the son of Gabriel Agreste himself!" She snorted, fully aware of Adrien's home situations. "Thanks, though. That means a lot."

"Of course." Adrien pulled her into a quick hug. "I'll see you later. My fencing instructor appreciates punctuality."

"See you!" Marinette waved and walked off, leaving Adrien to his fencing.

* * *

Ladybug grumbled beside Chat Noir, rubbing her eyes. "I. Hate. Late night. Akumas."

"Me too. Let's just kill him and get out of here."

"Chat! We can't just kill him!"

"Why not? I'm really feeling it tonight. It's half one."

"Just figure out where and what and who it is so we can cleanse it and get some sleep." Ladybug yawned and undid both pigtails. "It's too late for this. I'm doing a bedtime bun so I can go right to sleep later. Here, hold this." She handed him one of her hair ties and bunched her hair into a messy bun, securing it with one hair tie and then the other. "Thanks."

"Y-yeah. No problem."

Ladybug had pulled her hair up, giving Chat a clear view of her double piercing—and her cat pearl earrings.

"I, uh, didn't know you had two piercings."

"Recent addition. Like the new ones? They were a gift from someone in my squad. Erm, friend group. Sorry, one of them always says 'squad' like it's not purely bizarre."

"Yeah. They're r-really cute." _I would know. I picked them out!_

"Thanks. Now let's get on this thing."

"I am Night Owl! Avian queen of the darkness!"

"There it is!"

"Dammit. I'm allergic to birds."

Ladybug snickered. "Oh, that's right. Provide the distraction from afar; I'll go make sure we can get a few hours of sleep." She swung away, calling out for the akuma's attention as part of her master plan.

"Hey, Birdbrain!" Chat jumped up and waved his arm while Ladybug swung in and knocked the goggles off of Night Owl's head. They broke as they fell, releasing the dark butterfly.

"That was way easier than I expected it to be." Ladybug purified the butterfly and released it, offering the services of the duo to help get the woman home at such a late hour.

* * *

Adrien fell into bed at a little after two. "She's been behind me this whole time. Plagg, did you know?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny any knowledge or lack thereof of other miraculous wielders. Now gimme some camembert and let me sleep."

"So you knew? Or you didn't? Plagg?"

Plagg had already fallen asleep, his cheese barely touched.

Adrien huffed and crawled back into bed, trying to ignore his thoughts of Marinette in a bun, falling asleep on top of her covers.

Everything made more sense and yet less sense all at the same time. Of course Marinette couldn't take a selfie with Ladybug when she was Ladybug, and it made sense that she wouldn't want to remove her earrings. But who was the guy that she was only sort of interested in?

_Chat Noir. That son of a—wait, that's me. That's me!_

"Ladybug is interested in me!"

Plagg rolled over with a snore.

Adrien laid back and grinned. Maybe he wasn't Marinette's first choice, but at least there was a chance she'd go for him.

He just had to help her figure out it was him.

* * *

"Nice bun, Mari."

Marinette stared at Adrien with dead eyes as she trudged into class. "I'm sorry?"

"Your bun. In your hair? It's cute."

"Oh." She yawned. "Sorry, I was up late sketching. Didn't get to sleep until around two." She sank into her seat and laid her head on her desk.

Adrien turned to get a better view of her. "I was up late, too."

"Mm. Why?"

"Akuma attack kept me up. It was a bird one. Ladybug took care of it super quick, which is great considering my bird allergy."

"Oh, I heard it, too. That probably contributed to my lack of sleep." She yawned again, louder. "I set like six alarms so I'd get up in time. Speaking of, where's the other half of our squad? And don't tell Alya I said that. I'll skin you alive."

"That's not nice, princess. Besides, wouldn't that kill me?"

She ignored the nickname, sitting up to lean her head on her hand. Her sweater fell off of one shoulder, exposing her camisole under it. "There's more than one way to skin a cat."

Adrien snorted. "Are you calling me a cat?"

"Yep. Anything you need to tell me?"

Adrien looked at her with the straightest face he could manage. "Yes, Marinette. I, Adrien Jules Agreste, am the handsome, ripped, and otherwise attractive Chat Noir."

Marinette snorted back at him. "Yeah, like I'm supposed to believe that."

"What if it were true?" Adrien challenged.

"If it were true, it would be crazy. Sure, truth is stranger than fiction, but it's not like you have enough time to actually be a superhero."

"What if I made the time?"

"Adrien, if you are actually Chat Noir, I will deep fry my favorite pair of socks and auction them off on eBay."

Adrien winked and turned back around as Alya and Nino walked in. "Time will tell, princess."

"What's with the bun, bun?" Alya slid over and bumped into Marinette.

"Didn't get a lot of sleep. Up because of the akuma last night. And designing. That was why I was up in the first place, but the akuma kept me up longer." She shrugged. "I had this in when I finally went to bed. But hey, Nino, how are your cousins?"

"Annoying as hell, but I love them. One just got engaged, so that's gonna be a hell of a party."

"Cool. Which one?"

"Izzy, the one you didn't like."

"Wait, why doesn't Marinette like Izzy?"

Nino and Alya started laughing.

"She's rude to me whenever Nino has parties because she would also like to be a fashion designer. Like, there's room for two, but not with that attitude. No need to be a bitch about it, _Isabel_. It's not my fault I can get personal endorsements from members of the Agreste family and that I'm actually better than she is."

Alya patted her knee. "Down, Mari. You'll kick her ass by being the better designer; I'm sure of it."

"Oh, Marinette! I love your earrings!" Rose laid a hand on her shoulder and leaned closer to look at them. "Very cute."

"Thank you, Rose. Adrien got them for me a while back. He has good taste, _non_?" Marinette felt bold enough to wink at him when she saw how pink his face was turning.

" _Mais oui!_ Oh, Madame is here. I'm gonna go sit down." Rose scampered off to her seat as class began. Adrien just shrunk down in his seat; while he was used to compliments from Marinette, he wasn't used to compliments from _Ladybug_.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Adrien and Marinette were on the phone later that evening.

"Okay, if you're Chat Noir, then why are his jokes better?"

"You've never been around to listen to his jokes! Mine are way better!" Adrien rolled over onto his back on his bed.

"Yeah, right. I follow the Ladyblog, remember? Like everybody else in Paris? I can assure you that Chat's jokes are better. Ow! Hold on, trying not to bleed on my jacket." Her voice became more distant as she searched for a bandage. "I know I have some! Oh, there they are! Sorry, didn't realize my finger was so close to the blade."

"Serves you right for calling my jokes bad."

"I didn't call them bad! I just said that a literal superhero's were better."

Adrien sighed. "I think Ladybug's are better than Chat Noir's."

"I mean, yeah. Usually. He can come up with good stuff, though."

"Fair enough. So, what makes you think I can't be Chat Noir?"

"You barely have time on your hands as it is. 'Adrien Jules Agreste: superhero, model, straight A student!' It's too much for one person."

"You forgot to add 'human disaster' to that list."

"Right, sorry. It should go model, then superhero, and _then_ human disaster." She chuckled, distracted while she was rethreading her needle. "For as much as you like Chat Noir, though, you sure fawn over Ladybug. You think you have a shot at her?"

"I mean, I'm a rich model. I technically have a shot at anybody I want. Hell, I could pick the straightest boy in our class—"

"You mean _you_?"

"Hush, I'm talking. Anyway, I could pick the straightest boy in our class _that isn't me_ and propose and they'd consider it because I could provide a good future for them. Besides, I'd make a great husband."

"Would you now? How would you explain moonlighting as Chat Noir, supposedly?"

"I would say, 'Honey, I have to tell you something.' Here, roleplay with me. Honey, I have to tell you something."

"What is it, most darling Adrien whom I would trust with my very life and every fiber of my being?"

"Oh, nice touch. Anyway, going on." He cleared his throat and put his dramatic voice back on. "It's a secret, my darling, but I must share it. I'm cheating on you."

Marinette gasped appropriately. "Adrien, how could you? Surely you limited your affairs to just one person!"

"Alas, my love. I am cheating on you with the whole of Paris. They need me, you see, to protect them from the evil Papillion. My true identity is Chat Noir."

"What about Ladybug? Can't she do it alone?"

"Alack, I am also in love with her. Surely you can understand, my dearest."

Marinette laughed. " _Alack_. Gosh, I haven't heard that since Shakespeare class. Moving on. Oh, Adrien, I'm simply devastated that you would go for that bitch with the nice ass in magical spandex over me."

"Now, now, isn't that a bit narcissistic?"

"How is saying that narcissistic?"

"Come on. You are the only logical choice for Ladybug out of our entire school. No pictures, never getting to meet her..."

"Pssh. Why does she have to be from our school?"

"She had one of our history books."

"M-maybe she was delivering it to a friend. Hey, I'm gonna let you go. I have to get more on this jacket done tonight. Remember, your lunch day is tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know. I'll remind Nathalie, but she probably has it scheduled in already. Night, Maribug."

"Night, Adribear."

Adrien hung up and let his phone fall beside him. Revealing himself was a lot more complicated than he thought.

* * *

Nino and Adrien waited in the Dupain-Cheng living room for the girls to be ready for the fundraiser, growing more and more concerned over Marinette's pleas for Alya to _stand still_ and Alya's exclamations that weren't kid-friendly.

Marinette eventually called down the stairs. "Okay, you guys have to close your eyes until we're down there."

"Why can't we watch you come down the stairs?" Nino nudged Adrien with his elbow.

"Because I'll fall if someone's watching me, you morons. Now close your eyes; I've worked hard on these for the last two weeks, and I want to have good reviews."

"Alright, alright. Our eyes are closed. Ease up."

The boys heard them walking down the stairs and waited for Marinette's command to open their eyes.

Adrien spotted Alya first, and the costume was a near-perfect imitation minus the practical things Marinette had done to make it wearable—like seams and a zipper.

Then Adrien saw Marinette.

She looked exactly like the sketch she'd shown him, right down to the green accents.

He was most _definitely_ dying.

"We broke him. I'm calling it. Dead on arrival, three minutes past eleven in the morning. Adrien, buddy?" Nino shook him gently.

"Holy crap, Marinette, that's amazing!"

She ducked her head at the praise. "Thank you. It's hardly the first design of mine you've seen me in, you know."

"Yes, but you look beautiful. It's just so perfect."

Alya waved. "I'm standing here, too."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. You look great, too." Adrien glanced between the two girls, unsure where to focus for minimal embarrassment.

Nino just laughed.

"Come on, Adrien. Remove your jaw from the floor and help us with our booth. You can gawk at us later." Alya walked out as if she owned the place, the rest of the squad close behind.

Adrien kept looking at Marinette while they were setting up as though she were a figment of his imagination. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her earrings that had gotten them into this whole mess in the first place—he really didn't know which pair he meant, either.

Soon enough, the fundraiser was in full swing. Alya had convinced some local shops to donate their outdated Ladybug merchandise to help the kids go on a trip, and it was going over really well.

Their stream of people died down after an hour or two, leaving them more time to talk amongst themselves.

Alya leaned back in her chair. "You know what would be cool?"

The other three chorused, "What?" They were used to her antics at this point.

"If Chat Noir and Ladybug actually showed up."

"Then Sunshine over here really would fall over dead."

"Shut up, Nino. You just about fainted that time Chat Noir saved you from a flying centipede."

" _That_ was because of the _flying centipede_ , and you know it!"

Marinette looked utterly perturbed by the memory. "What was that akuma's deal, anyway?"

Adrien stretched while he answered. "Someone made fun of her for having a bug collection, so of course she had to prove how cool they were by shooting the weirdest ones at everybody. I mean, I'm not about making fun of people, but it would be a little less disgusting if she hadn't thrown them at us, you know?" He shivered. "At least we didn't get turned into giant bugs."

Alya made a face. "Worse things have happened, after all."

Adrien stood up from his chair. "I'm gonna go the restroom. All this sitting around has made me—"

"Don't even finish that sentence. We'll be here when you get back." Marinette waved her hand to dismiss him. "Don't get lost."

"Yeah, yeah, I won't." Adrien waved at the trio and walked to one of the upstairs bathrooms, locking the door behind himself. "Come on out, Plagg."

"What if I don't wanna?"

"Come on. Alya would be so happy." Adrien pulled Plagg from his pocket, rubbing between his ears.

"You just want pictures with Marinette dressed like Chat Noir."

"I'll feed you extra camembert for a week."

Plagg considered this briefly. "Deal."

Adrien called for the transformation and snuck out the window before going back in as Chat Noir, of course stopping to sign autographs and pose for pictures. He tapped Alya on the shoulder. "Yes, aren't you the girl from the Ladyblog?"

Alya's shrieks filled the space a few times over. "You say that like we haven't met before!"

"I heard you were cosplaying my Lady, so of course I had to come check it out. Figured it was time we _cat_ ch up." Chat Noir winked at Alya. "And who's this?"

"Marinette, the brain and hands behind our costumes."

Chat took Marinette's hand and kissed it. "I'm flattered."

"Th-thanks. I think Ladybug would like them, too."

"I _know_ she would." Chat winked at Marinette, pulling the two of them against his sides. "Can I get a picture with you gorgeous ladies?"

Alya was already ready with her phone out. "Nino! Hey, Nino, pay attention! Actual superhero asking for a picture with me!"

Nino turned. "Chat Noir! Dude, awesome! You want me to take pictures, Alya?"

She tossed her phone to him, and the three posed a few different ways.

"Is Ladybug coming?" Nino handed Alya's phone back to her.

"I'm sure she'll be along shortly." Chat risked a glance at Marinette.

"You know, I should go get Adrien. He'd be sad he missed this." Marinette ran off before any of them could say anything.

It took everything in Chat not to respond to her. He mentally begged his tongue to function, thankful when Alya finally spoke.

"I think she went the wrong direction."

It was then that Chat realized he'd forgotten which bathroom he'd hidden in as Adrien.

Ladybug strolled through the door a few moments later and made her way to them after posing for pictures and signing autographs. "I heard my biggest fan dressed up as me!"

Alya nearly tackled her, her speech a string of incomprehensible syllables.

"What's the matter, Ladyblogger? Cat got your tongue?" She winked at Chat, who lifted a hand to his chest and looked fake-offended.

"My Lady, you stole my line!"

Ladybug laughed at him, taking Alya's phone for a selfie. "And will your boyfriend take one of all three of us?"

Alya sputtered. "Nino isn't my boyfriend! But yeah, probably."

Nino accepted the phone from Ladybug, and they all posed also. Alya took a few of the heroes with Nino when they heard a scream.

"Akuma." Ladybug gave a quick goodbye to the pair and pulled Chat with her. "What do you think happened?"

"Someone probably feels cheated. We need to evacuate the building." He was secretly relieved that he didn't have to remember the right bathroom this time around.

"Can you take care of that? I feel like we should deal with this head-on."

"Can do." Chat vaulted away, calling for civilians to follow him away from the area.

"Come on out, akuma! We don't have all day!"

"I am the Pastry Princess! I just wanted a scone, but it was stolen from me!"

"A kid again, really?" Ladybug landed in front of the child, whose dress looked like it was made out of pastry papers. She clutched something in her hand.

"As soon as I get your miraculous, Papillion promised me a scone. I want blueberry."

"The blueberry scone will have to wait. Why don't you just give me what's in your hand—"

Pastry Princess shot jelly filings at Ladybug, knocking her back onto her butt.

"I'm kind of upset that this one is a kid. I can't call her a Donut Dork or anything." Chat leaned on his staff beside her. "Looks like you're in a sticky situation."

Ladybug glanced around briefly before flipping him the bird.

"But princess, I'm allergic to birds!"

"You and Adrie—Adrien?" She looked at him, _really_ looked at him, her eyes going wide. "You weren't kidding about being a superhero."

"Of course I wasn't, my Lady." He helped her up. "Nice earrings, by the way."

"Thanks. I thought you'd like them."

"I do. We should probably get that akuma now."

"Yeah, probably."

* * *

The pair relaxed at Marinette's later that evening after the the akuma was purified and the girl was satisfied with a scone from the bakery. Marinette was sketching a Ladybug jacket for Adrien while he ate some snacks. Jagged Stone's newest album was playing in the background while Tikki and Plagg napped.

"So, question, Bug."

She held up a finger, counted a couple of things, then lifted her head. "Okay, shoot."

"Why didn't you believe me when I told you I was Chat?" He dropped the bag of chips to his lap, crumbs clinging to his fingers.

"Adrien, I was so tired that morning. Besides, even you have to admit that you do a lot of stuff that you barely have time for."

"That's true. It does sound implausible when you think about it that way. You're forgiven."

"Thanks. It was the earrings that gave me away, wasn't it?"

Adrien crunched into another chip. "Yep. And the bun the next morning. You should do that more often, by the way. It was cute."

"I'll consider it." Marinette made a few more lines on her paper, smiling when she was done. "There. Pattern drafted. Well, mostly. I still need to do it larger, obviously."

"Looks good."

She swatted his leg. "You have no idea what half of this means."

He didn't even flinch; he knew she wasn't out to hurt him. "This is true. I just wear clothes. I know very little about actually making them. But I do know that it always looks good when you're happy with it."

"Nerd."

"You say that like it's new information."

"Whatever. You're still a nerd." She poked his side, causing him to drop some chips.

"Hey, hey! Easy! Spilling sacred food over here!"

Marinette got up and rolled out her pattern paper so she could start drafting full scale. "It's nothing a vacuum can't fix." She plopped down on the floor and drew her base lines for the pattern, going from there for the rest of it.

"Question."

"Answer."

Adrien took a quick breath. "W-what would Ladybug say if she knew that Chat Noir had the biggest crush on her? A-and if she knew that he'd been talking about it for months to her secret identity via _his_ secret identity without knowing it was her secret identity and passing it off as some weird celebrity obsession?"

Marinette sat a little straighter for a moment. "I'd say that Adrien Jules Agreste, model, human disaster, and straight A student, also known as the handsome, ripped, and otherwise attractive Chat Noir, probably has a chance with her."

"Excuse me?"

"I have it on good word from Ladybug herself that she happens to find Adrien cute and Chat Noir funny." Marinette winked at him. "But she still thinks Chat's jokes are better than yours."

"That's fair. He has better opportunities to make them." Adrien threw a crumb up and tried to catch it in his mouth, cursing when it landed next to his eye instead. "Smooth, Agreste."

"Adrien?"

"What?"

"You're the person I like, you know."

"Oh! Oh, that makes so much more sense."

She giggled. "I thought it might. How does next Saturday sound for a date?"

He grinned at her. "That sounds perfect."

"And Adrien? Thanks for the earrings."

"You're welcome. Although, I think you owe me something in return."

Marinette shot him a confused look.

"Your favorite pair of socks, deep fried and auctioned off on eBay."

They ended up selling for €20.

**Author's Note:**

> Can you tell I know something about designing? And, for the record, I'm in the process of actually designing the jacket that Marinette makes. Anyway, let me know what you thought! Love you all! xoxo -wwot


End file.
